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1915 World Series
In the 1915 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies four games to one. In their only World Series before 1950, the Phillies won Game 1 before being swept the rest of the way. It was 65 years before the Phillies won their next Series game. The Red Sox pitching was so strong in the 1915 series that the young Babe Ruth was not used on the mound and only made a single pinch-hitting appearance in the first game against Grover Cleveland Alexander, as Babe Ruth appeared in the first of 10 World Series, 3 with the Red Sox. In Game 2, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was in attendance, making it the first time that a President watched a World Series game live. This was the second straight year that a Boston team beat a Philadelphia team in the World Series: the Braves had swept the Athletics the year before. This was one instance where each home field was very much an advantage, at least in some circumstances. Fenway Park had been open for four seasons and was fully functional in 1915, but the Red Sox "home" games were played at the brand-new Braves Field, to take advantage of its larger seating capacity. Beyond the added revenue, the long ball was affected: *In the third inning of Game 3 at Boston, with two out, one run in, and two runners in scoring position, Gavvy Cravath drove a pitch deep to left field, which was caught for a harmless inning-ending out in the spacious Braves Field outfield. If the game had occurred in Fenway, or in Philadelphia's Baker Bowl, it might have been a home run or an extra-base hit, and might have turned the Series around. *The Phillies had packed some extra outfield seats into their already-small ballfield. The effect was most noticeable in the decisive Game 5, in which Boston's Harry Hooper twice homered over the close-in center field fence, and Duffy Lewis followed suit. In Braves Field, those would have been extra-base hits at best. Both of Hooper's hits, including the eventual game-winner in the top of the ninth, actually bounced over the fence, and were home runs under the rules of the day. Hooper was the first player to hit 2 home runs in one World Series Game. They would be ground rule doubles today. Hooper hit only 2 American League home runs during ehr regular season. Fred Luderus hit the only home run by the Phillies. Since the Phillies failed to hit a home run in the 1950 World Series, it marked their only Woerld Series home run until the 1980 World Series. Summary AL Boston Red Sox (4) vs. NL Philadelphia Phillies (1) Matchups Game 1 (left) and Grover Cleveland Alexander (right).]] Friday, October 8, 1915 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game 2 Saturday, October 9, 1915 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game 3 Monday, October 11, 1915 at Braves Field in Boston, Massachusetts Game 4 Tuesday, October 12, 1915 at Braves Field in Boston, Massachusetts Game 5 Wednesday, October 13, 1915 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Composite box 1915 World Series (4–1): Boston Red Sox (A.L.) over Philadelphia Phillies (N.L.) |}} Notes References *Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series. 1st ed. New York: St Martins, 1990. (Neft and Cohen 57-60) *Reichler, Joseph, ed. (1982). The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.), p. 2123. MacMillian Publishing. ISBN 0-02-579010-2. * External links * 1915 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com * 1915 World Series at MLB.com * 1915 World Series at Baseball-Almanac.com * 1915 World Series box scores and play-by-play at Retrosheet.org World Series Category:Boston Red Sox Category:Philadelphia Phillies Category:World Series Category:1910s